Russian media: FSB claims to foil 'terrorist attack in crowded place' in Russia

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) claims to have prevented "a terrorist attack in a crowded place" in Stavropol Krai in southern Russia, the Russian state-owned news agency TASS wrote on March 29.

The FSB claimed to have detained three citizens of an unnamed Central Asian country who allegedly planned to cause an explosion.

"Components of an improvised explosive device, chemicals, and munitions were seized from the detainees at their place of residence," TASS said, citing the FSB's statement.

The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify the claims.

The FSB's announcement comes a week after several gunmen opened fire at a concert hall in Krasnogorsk outside Moscow, killing at least 144 people.

Though the Islamic State terrorist group claimed responsibility for the Moscow attack shortly thereafter, the Kremlin is attempting to pin the blame on Ukraine. Russian dictator Vladimir Putin claimed on March 23 that the suspects planned to flee to Ukraine without providing any evidence.

Ukraine and the U.S. rejected the Kremlin's allegations.

Ahead of the Moscow attack, the U.S. Embassy in Russia issued a warning on March 7 that "extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow" and urged American citizens to stay away from crowded areas and venues over the next 48 hours.

The U.K., Canada, Germany, and several other countries published similar statements soon after.

Alexander Bortnikov, the head of the FSB, claimed that U.S. warnings were only "general."

Budanov: Russia knew about terror attack preparations at least since Feb. 15

According to Kyrylo Budanov, Russia knew from where the attackers would come and through which two countries they would enter Russian territory. “Don’t let them tell you stories on how this (attack) appeared out of nowhere,” the intelligence chief commented.

The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek